Counter mechanism for stamp-affixers.



W. J. BALKWILL.

COUNTER MECHANISM FOR STAMP AFFIXERS.

APPLICATION FILED .MAY ll IBIS.

1,216,267.- I Patented Feb. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

3 \llnu WESLEY JOSEPH BALKWI or EOQI-IESTERyN EW YOBK, AS-SIGNOR T0MULTLPOS'L COMPANY, or nocrrnsrnn, vnw YORK, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

COUNTER MECHANISM FOR STAMP-AFFIXERS.

i .eieeer.

Application filed May 1, 1913.

new and useful Improvements in Counter Mechanism for Stamp-Affixersg andI do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, foru'iing a part of this specification, and tothe reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to stamp aflixers, especially thoseprovided with de mountable stamp containers, and it has for its primaryobject to provide on said detachable portion of the machine a counter orregister for keeping an accurate record of the number of stampsdischarged from the machine, this arrangement of the registeringmechanism permitting the use with a single affixing machine of aplurality of stamp containers, one or another of which may be selectedfor the afixing of stamps of different denominations, as the operatormay desire. To these and other ends the invention. consists in certainimprovements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter morefully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims atthe end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a stamp afiixing machine showing anarrangement of parts embodying the present invention, portions thereofbeing shown in section to illustrate the internal arrangement of themechanism Fig. 2 is a view of the stamp case, with the guideway removed,showing the inner side thereof which faces the feeding mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line 06-64 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4: is a detail view illustrating the operation of the register. and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a single stamp affixingmachine and a plurality of stamp containers, together with a suitablereceptacle in which the latter may be retained when not in use.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate thesame parts.

In illustrating my present invention I have shown it applied to a stampaflixing machine comprising a casing 1 and contain- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented rep. 2c, 1917.

Serial No. 764,914..

ing an affixing member or plunger 2 carried on the shaft 3 provided withan operating knob or handle l by which it may be reciprocated, saidshaft also carrying the feeding device by which the strip of stamps orlabels is advanced forwardly in a step-bystep manner upon eachreciprocation of the plunger or afflxer 2. One side of the frame of themachine is open and detachably fitted therein is afstamp receptacle orcontainer comprising in thepresent instance a circular case 5, whichreceives the roll or cartridge 6 of stamps, and the downwardly extendingguideway 7, along which the stamp strip is fed, having a laterallycurved end 8 discharging the free end of the stamp strip over the cutterbar 9 into the path of the afiixing member The container 5 is preferablyformed of a ring which'is open at one side and closed at the oppositeside by a cover 10,

said open side fitting against a correspond ingly shaped segmental diskpro ect1ng from one of the sides of the shell of the main casmg 1.

The combinedcontainer and. guideway are preferably made as a unit anddetachably secured at its upper end in the open side of the casing ofthe machine by the hook-shaped projections 11, which engage in rear ofan abutment 12 and held in place at its lower end by a key lock 13having a bolt 14 which engages a recess or depression on the base 15which comprise a part of the frame 1 of the machine. The guidewayextends downwardly from the container 5 and is inclosed between theparallel walls 16 and 17, the rear edges of which are united by atransversely extending wall 18 on which the lock 13 is secured. In theconstruction of these parts a space is provided directly beneath thecontainer in rear of the guideway 7 in which is mounted the counter orregister mechanism 19, the open side or observation window of whichprojects through the wall 18 where the number indicated by the registerwheels may be conveniently viewed. The register 19 may be of the usualor any preferred construction and illustration thereof is, therefore,omitted with the exception of the operating shaft 20, the oscillation ofwhich, it will be understood, causes the advancing step-by-step movementof the counter mecha nism. The oscillation of this shaft may beaccomplished in various ways, but in the present disclosure I have shownit provided with an operating finger 21 which projects laterally beyondthe stamp guide 7 and into a position to be engaged by a trip member orfinger 22 moving vertically with the shaft 3 and the affixing member 2thereon, it being so positioned that at the proper point in the downwardmovement of the shaft 3 it will engage the lever 21 and oscillate itfrom the position shown in Fig. l, to that shown in Fig. 4:, at whichtime a single stamp or label has been projected, severed and ailixed bythe head 2. The finger 21 is oscillated into its normal position by aspring 23 or equivalent mechanism.

With a stamp affixer of the character described, comprising the mainframe or casing and the demountable or detachable stamp containers, anydesired number of such containers may be filled with stamp cartridges ofdiiferent denominations and always maintained in readiness for use andone interchanged for another as occasion may require. However, owing tothe monetary value of the stamps it is particularly desirable that anaccurate record of these should be maintained and this applied whether asingle container is employed on the machine or several of them aresupplied and used with a single atlixer, and these reasons not onlypoint to the desirability, but to the extreme importance of mounting theindicating or recording mechanism on the detachable unit or demountableportion of the machine.

In practice where it is customary to use two or more stamp containerswith a single afliXer, a suitable cabinet, such as shown in Fig. 5, isprovided for the aifixer and its interchangeable parts having onecompartment 30 in which the afliXer itself may be locked and renderedinaccessible by a door 31 fitted with a key lock 32 and a plurality ofsmaller stalls or compartments 33 in which the combined containers andstamp guideways may be placed when not locked in position on themachine, as shown in Fig. 1. The locks 13 on said containers serve tosecure them in their respective compartments of the cabinet, the boltsof the locks engaging in recesses or depressions 34: formed in thecabinet base, the latter being also provided with suitable shoulderswith which the hooks 11 on the containers 5 engage. It is customary tomake the locks 13 and 32 operable by means of the same key so that thiscan be retained in the possession of the party who is charged with theresponsibility of the use of the stamps. fin accurate record of thenumber of stamps is at all times obtained by the register 19 forming apart of the detachable element of the machine, and as this part, when inuse is locked on the aliixing machine, the stamps can only be obtainedby the operation of the latter and the element when not in use is lockedto the cabinet thereby preventing the unauthorized removal of stampstherefrom.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination with a stamp ailixer mechanism comprising a movableatlixing member, and a detachable stamp container, interchangeable withother like elements, of a counter mechanism carried upon said stampcontainer and arranged to be operated by the movement of said aliixingnicni- 7 her in one direction, when said container is in operativeposition on the stamp ailixer :echanism.

2. The combination with a stamp allixer comprising a frame and areciprocating aflixing member, of a plurality of elementsinterchangeable one with another and each adapted to be applied to saidframe and to contain different stamps, and a counter mechanism on eachof said elements, for keeping tally of the number of stamps ejectedtherefrom, having an. actuating portion adapted to be moi'ed by theoperation of the ailixing member, when said element is applied to theframe.

3. The combination with a stamp allixer comprising stamp feedingmechanism and a movable aliixing member, of a pin 'ality of stampcontainers each adapted to cooperate separately with the ailixer and tocontain stamps of different denominations and a counter carried by eachcontainer and means for operating said counters arranged on the aftixerand cooperating with them when their respective containers are appliedto said aliixer.

a The combination with a stamp afiixer having a movable member and adetachable stamp case, of a counter mounted on the case for recordingthe number of stamps dis- 105 charged therefrom having an operatingmember and means carried by the movable member of the aifixer foractuating said operating member.

VESLEY JOSEPH PALKWILL.

Witnesses G. i/VILLARD RICH, RUSSELL B. Grinrrrrir.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

